Palmer made his first Premier League start in our 3-0 win against the Toffees with Bernardo Silva latching onto his deflected strike to complete the scoring with five to play.
But there was still enough time for fellow youngster McAtee to be handed his top flight debut late on, testing Jordan Pickford with a vicious near-post drive as stoppage time approached.
Asked to assess both City youngsters’ performances, Guardiola insisted their senior opportunities are fully deserved.
He reflected: “I said many times, all of us we believe, not just me, Txiki (Begiristain) as well, we believe we have a good generation in the academy, with four or five players with quite good potential to help us.
“These guys have a good quality. Cole (Palmer), James (McAtee), Romeo (Lavia), Sam Edozie - he is injured - Luke Mbete, Liam Delap is injured and a top striker. We have good players in the academy.
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“When we can use them, I am delighted. We don’t give them opportunities just because they are in the academy, we believe in them and then it’s on them to show it.
“For our fans, I know how they like to see Phil and Cole and the next one to come. The rest is about being patient. Work hard and when they have opportunities, they have to play good.”
Check out the video above to hear Pep Guardiola’s post-match thoughts in full.
